


Not Quite Happily Ever After

by psychicdreams



Series: Love Spell Series [2]
Category: xxxHoLic
Genre: Drama, Established Relationship, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-01-19
Updated: 2007-01-19
Packaged: 2018-07-10 17:54:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6998560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/psychicdreams/pseuds/psychicdreams
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's not all roses just yet as Doumeki and Watanuki struggle with themselves and their new relationship. It doesn't help that the outside world hardly approves. [Sequel to A Love Spell Gone Awry]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Watanuki moaned and arched his back into those skillful hands, even if it hurt. His entire body felt on fire and he wished that the day just hadn't happened. But his Shizuka's hands were a wonder on his skin and he was left in a puddle of goo on his bed. His hands gripped the pillow he clutched to his chest as he lay on his futon, Doumeki sitting at the side of his hip.

"Over to the left a little…"

"Hn." That was all the sound his boyfriend made, but the massage did shift to his right shoulder where it hurt the most and he was left to sigh in pleasure. Really, this was the best and probably as close as Doumeki had gotten to any sort of intimate contact. His cheeks burned and he hid them in the pillow, as they hadn't actually even gotten so far as making out or even intimate touching in the last two weeks they'd been dating.

"That Yuuko-san," he complained for the hundredth time that evening. "It's all her fault I was almost turned into fried chicken!" He paused and turned his head to look in Doumeki's general direction, not wishing to crane his neck to actually see his boyfriend, lest it undo all of Doumeki's work on his back. "How…did your family take it…when you told them?"

It had worried him when Doumeki had told him that since he was already staying in Watanuki's apartment that there was no reason not to just stay there as it was. All he needed, he said, were a few things from the shrine and that was it. His parents hadn't taken well to the news that he was moving in with his _boyfriend_ and yesterday was the first time they'd spoken in two weeks.

He could feel more than see the shrug. "My father threatened to disown if I didn't break up with you. My mother seemed to want to support it, but didn't want to go against my father."

Watanuki gulped. "And will you?"

"Will I what?"

"Br-break-"

Those hands ceased before he'd even gotten the word out and before he could finish his sentence, he had been flipped over and kissed so thoroughly that he had forgotten what he'd been about to say. He blinked his hazy eyes when the extremely long kiss ended and he gasped for air. "Shizuka, what-"

"I will never leave you, Kimihiro."

The words weren't impassioned or emotional like many would have made them. They were, in fact, spoken in a normal tone of voice. But he could see the conviction and love in his boyfriend's eyes that spoke louder than any heartfelt speech.

His cheeks darkened in a blush and hesitantly, he pulled Doumeki closer. He knew that Doumeki was holding back for him. That he had refrained from anything until Watanuki was ready. Perhaps it was the massage his boyfriend had given him to loosen up the tense muscles from the job Yuuko had sent them on; maybe it was because he just loved Doumeki, but tonight he murmured, "You can touch me, if you want…a little…"

For a long moment, Doumeki didn't say or do anything, merely stared down and then those wonderful hands began to wander over the bare skin of his chest, leaving heated trails behind.

"Such pale skin…"

Doumeki's voice was so much lower than normal, so sexy, that it made Watanuki moan to hear it. Lips touched his own again and between the hands of his boyfriend and the kisses, he found himself so hard it hurt. But when Doumeki leaned in and the bulges in their pants met, bringing a hiss of pleasure to his lips at the friction, he balked and pushed his boyfriend away a little.

"Not yet…" he whispered even though they both wanted it so badly.

His boyfriend merely nodded, as if he had expected the response and curled up at Watanuki's back on the bed. For a while, even amid the snuggling, he could still feel Doumeki's hardness, but they both grew soft eventually and he could relax in the love that the stoic boy showered on him. His face never changed, but every gesture he did told the bespectacled boy of his feelings.

Watanuki had never been so happy.


	2. Chapter 2

t was the week of the culture festival, so Watanuki didn't get much of a chance to ponder his new relationship with his rival. Nearly every moment of the day was taken up by running from one end of the school to the other. Since he was not in a club, he had ended up being everyone's errand boy, which was eerily similar to working for Yuuko, only less dangerous. Whenever he could, he snuck glances at his boyfriend, but those were few and far between.

The archery club had voted unanimously to have a sort of contest booth where those could try their luck on hitting the targets and if they did, they actually got a kiss from their chosen archery members. It had once been thought about, so he'd heard from the gossiping girls nearby, that they could choose the archer and if the archer hit the target, they could kiss the member, but since that involved so much room for error, by accident or on purpose, it was scrapped.

This whole idea that the club had chosen bothered Watanuki. He had no doubt that there would be lines of girls just waiting to try their hand at archery to get a kiss from Doumeki. His hands shook as he thought of it. Even if most probably wouldn't be able to hit it, there was always that percent that because of _hitsuzen_ , chance, or coincidence that it would happen.

"Oi, you all right?"

Watanuki blinked and realized that he'd been staring into space the entire walk to Yuuko's shop. He flushed a little, not wanting to talk about the feelings he was having. It just wasn't fair! They had just begun their relationship, but there was no choice but to hide it. So it wasn't like Doumeki could say that he couldn't kiss someone because he was dating someone…and it just wasn't like his boyfriend to lie that he was dating a girl.

"I'm fine," he snapped without heat and turned to go through the gate that would lead to Yuuko's shop, feeling the golden eyes watch him.

"Strange shop."

"Eh?" he blinked, standing half in and half out of the shop. "Don't tell me… _you can see the shop now?!_ "

"No, only with this eye." Doumeki pointed at his eye and leveled a penetrating stare at the bespectacled boy. Watanuki couldn't meet his eyes and glanced back at Yuuko's shop. "What's the matter, Kimihiro?"

"It's nothing!" he yelled and burst into a run into the only place that Doumeki couldn't follow.

"Watanuki, what's wrong? You haven't done anything at all today except repeatedly dust the same spot on the bookshelf."

It must be a telling fact of Watanuki's current mental and emotional state that instead of getting upset and flailing about, he seriously turned to her and asked, "Yuuko-san, how do I not feel jealous when Doumeki kisses someone else?"

There was a very long pause and the look of sheer dumbfounded shock on the Dimensional Witch's face was quite worth the question, had Watanuki chosen to ask it for that reason. Unfortunately, what made it so shocking was that he was deadly serious.

The burgundy eyes blinked and she set down her sake cup very slowly, as if she were suddenly made aware she was in a minefield and she had to walk across it. Or as if the world had just not gone the same way she had expected and she was thinking so hard that her movements were slowed by it.

She took a deep breath and leveled him with a stern, motherly look. "Watanuki, what are you talking about? Doumeki-kun wouldn't kiss anyone but you."

"Not by choice, but…" It wasn't fair…why did he feel as if he was about to cry? This wasn't like him! He just didn't know how to deal with this strong a surge of jealousy. Slowly, he sat down on the floor in front of her and explained to her about the culture festival.

Yuuko's expression was contemplation during the whole speech and finally, she and Mokona exchanged glances. "Just tell him you don't like the idea, Watanuki. He'll listen to you. After all, wasn't it _him_ the one who was pursuing you at first? I doubt he'd completely ignore you when you talk about something like this."

"That's just it, though, Yuuko-san! I can't tell him that, because that'd interfere with the Culture Festival! I can't be selfish like that!"

She lifted her pipe to her lips and shrugged. "Watanuki, if you don't tell Doumeki-kun what you're feeling, how is he supposed to know? He's not a mind reader, you know."

"Che. I knew talking to you wouldn't help," Watanuki muttered and stood, going back to actually do work, missing Yuuko muttering something to Mokona about calling "someone" to talk.

The dreaded day of the Culture Festival began with a bang. More people than he dared be comfortable with showed up and as usual, there such things always brought out the spirits that didn't feel like showing up until there was some big shebang going on. He tried to avoid them as much as possible, but being a spirit attractor didn't much help in that respect.

And as he had expected, when he glanced out the window toward the archery range, there was a whole conflagration of girls there. Hell, there were even boys there and he felt his chest constrict until he could barely breathe. Doumeki was over there and if Watanuki had any luck, so far none of the "contestants" had had any luck in hitting the target.

His own class had decided to do, with what turned out to only sour Watanuki's mood further and was so completely ironic, was a "haunted house" of a sort. Most of the scary things that many thought were so very good at what they had done were cooked up from Watanuki's own supernatural experiences and he wasn't going to go anywhere near his classroom.

"Watanuki-kun!"

His introspection cut short, he turned when he heard that familiar, cheerful voice. "Himawari-chan, you look wonderful."

Indeed, she did, as her class had decided on the ever popular "café", only with a faint twist. It was supposed to be a olden café, where the women served wearing very pretty and noticeable kimonos. Hers was perhaps the most vibrant and nice blue he'd ever seen with splashes of rose and flower patterns.

"Thank you, but why are you just standing here by yourself? I thought you'd be at the archery range."

Himawari was the only one besides Yuuko who knew of his relationship with Doumeki. What he didn't know was that Himawari had been responsible for the whole situation of how they got together in the first place. Turning away, he sighed, trying not to look as despondent as he felt.

"It's not like that. My class did a scary, haunted house and I don't much like scary stuff, so I just don't want to go back. It's not like I _have_ to go to the archery range or anything…"

"But…what about Doumeki-kun? They did say the reward for hitting the bulls eye was a kiss…"

His hand tightened on the windowsill and there was silence as he stared vacantly out at the ground below him from the second floor. Things looked so small from up at this vantage point…

"Oh, Watanuki-kun, I don't suppose you could do me a big favor?"

"What is it?"

"I've got to get back to the café now, but I promised to send some of the nice stuff we made to Doumeki-kun. Could you take it to him for me instead?"

Watanuki could only stare at the bright, cheerful face before him as his heart sank. He didn't _want_ to go and have to witness his beloved Shizuka kiss someone else, but her naiveté knew no bounds, apparently. He couldn't hold it against her and ended up taking the bundle she held out to him, but somehow it was just…It was almost like something _Yuuko-san_ would do.

His feet trudged as slowly as possible to the archery range and it took more effort than he wanted to put in to get through the crowds of girls that had long ago lost any sense of the meaning of the word "line". He would have probably long ago gotten trampled if it hadn't been for someone recognizing him.

"Watanuki-san!"

It was the captain of the team, a good-looking fellow, plus outspoken. He'd met him a few times before on the occasions that he would be with Doumeki at the range to pick him up or bring him lunch. They'd never really talked before, but by the smile that was on the other boy's face, it was obvious he seemed to be a lifesaver.

Interesting.

"Konoo-san, how're you?"

"I'd expected you earlier! Come on, through here."

"Why…did you expect me at all?"

"Eh?" He glanced at Watanuki in surprise. "Why? Well, because…you and Doumeki-kun seem to be really close. I think you're the only one that's ever gotten close to Doumeki-kun before. You seem to be his only friend."

Konoo didn't say anything more, but it left Watanuki with a lot to ponder. He'd never thought about it, but it was true. He'd never seen Doumeki with anyone else. He was either with the bespectacled boy, or alone.

"Anyway, it's a madhouse here. Doumeki-kun's over there. So far, no one has been able to hit the bulls-eye."

Somehow he'd managed to be led around all the girls and even the few guys there without any trouble. Perhaps it was just Konoo's aura that did it, that parted them like the red sea. His eyes were almost nostalgic as he stared at the aloof form of his boyfriend, the tilt of his head proud but uninterested in his surroundings. As if he could tell the gazes apart, their eyes met.

Feeling awkward now, as in order to get to Doumeki he had to walk in front of all the excited and very scary girls, he shuffled up to his friend. "Here. Himawari-chan asked me to bring this to you."

"Thanks." Doumeki didn't even open it to see what was inside and only set it on the nearby table. "I expected you sooner."

A vein nearly popped in his head. " _Why does everyone assume I had to come?_ " he hissed in annoyance, crossing his arms and coming very close to sulking.

Before his boyfriend could answer, there was a huge commotion among the crowd and he turned to find that the shy girl who held the bow seemed shocked that somehow she had managed to hit the bulls-eye. And not only had she hit it, she had hit _dead center_.

His throat went dry when the girl turned toward Doumeki and blushed. One of the archery members took the bow and Konoo stepped up with that thundering presence of his own and smiled winningly at those gathered. "Well, finally, we have a winner! Which handsome guy will it be, Sanda-san? Maybe even lil' ol' me?"

There was a ripple of laughter, even from the shy and embarrassed girl, but she again turned back to Doumeki, who was still standing next to Watanuki and displaying an almost rude amount of disinterest. "Um…Doumeki-san?"

"Got good taste, doesn't she?" Konoo threw out and took her hand, leading her nearer, as it didn't appear as if she was going to walk toward the archer on her own power. He could feel the awkwardness she must have, knowing that right then the entire student body of girls envied her every step and her entire presence.

"Um…Doumeki-san?" she prompted when it didn't appear as if Doumeki was going to do anything. Watanuki's heart had never pounded so hard in his chest his whole life. He wished he could run away, he wished he wasn't there at all to see this, but his feet were rooted to the spot. He caught Konoo's eye, as if the captain were asking him to urge the boy next to him and he laughed a little nervously.

"What are you waiting for, Doumeki? She hit the bulls-eye and wants you to kiss her."

That penetrating stare again, as if his boyfriend couldn't believe that he had said that. But what else was he supposed to do exactly? If it looked like he was hesitating, as if he were _jealous_ , then their relationship would be found out, which couldn't happen.

"I'm sorry, but I can't kiss you."

A startled gasp went through the gathered crowd, which suddenly seemed a whole lot bigger. Hope fought with his jealous and relief as he stood next to his friend, not even bothering to hide his surprise like the rest. Konoo seemed to smile, as if he had expected that answer.

"Doumeki-san…"

"I can't kiss you because I love someone else."

"In other words, it wouldn't be right to that person, right, Doumeki-kun?" Konoo murmured. His voice rose like he were the star of a drama, and grinned. "Then can you kiss the person you do love for us instead?"

Watanuki felt that was rude to Sanda, but he had no chance to say so at Konoo's behavior for several reasons. The first was that it would be even ruder to Konoo and bring an embarrassing situation and for another, he was already being turned by his boyfriend to face him.

If the gasp among the crowd had been loud when Doumeki wouldn't kiss the girl, there was virtually _no_ sound when Doumeki kissed Watanuki in front of what was basically the whole female population of the school. And as usual when it happened, Watanuki's knees went weak and it was only Doumeki's arm as it slid around his waist holding him up. Resistance left him whenever his boyfriend kissed him like that and he cursed it and loved it at the same time.

When it ended, his cheeks were flushed so red it would have rivaled a rose and he dared not look at those around him, staring only at Doumeki's chest. His back was rigid, feeling the daggers of hate and astonishment in those gazes boring into his back, but he could not just bury his face in his boyfriend's arms and hide from them, as that was girly. It was not something a man could do.

_"I thought so…"_

The words resounded in his head and he blinked, finally looking up to see a somewhat gentle and highly amused look on Konoo's face, but he didn't seem at all surprised about it. Why? Why was he not surprised when it appeared that everyone else had almost keeled over in shock?

He couldn't take the stares any longer, as he could feel the hate gathering momentum and knew there was going to be a riot in a minute. Turning on his heel, he broke away from Doumeki's loose hold on him and ran for all he was worth away from the archery range.


	3. Chapter 3

Three days. It had been three days since the Culture Festival and Watanuki had never felt more ostracized and upset in his life. The only people that would talk to him were Doumeki, Himawari, and oddly enough, Konoo. The boys would jeer at him as he passed in the halls and the girls would merely glare at him and gossip behind their hands in that annoying and upsetting way they had.

 

He had taken to eating on the roof again, like he had before he had met Himawari, Doumeki, and Yuuko. Doumeki never asked why he chose to eat up there, but soon it became a foursome, instead of a sometimes-threesome affair. Konoo joined them, after apparently having followed Doumeki one time, and Himawari showed up far more often than she ever did before.

 

Perhaps they meant to comfort him, but he didn’t think they noticed his treatment. The school acted the same when he was around them; it was only alone that he could feel the gazes, pointing fingers, and unhealthy glares. And as cliché as it sounded, negative feelings such as that often drew <I>more</I> spirits, which didn’t help his mental or physical state at all.

 

All in all, he wished that the day of the Culture Festival had never happened.

 

<b><I>~*~*~</b></I>

 

“I can’t stand it, Yuuko!”

 

Yuuko watched as Himawari paced in front of her. Watanuki had gone home and as usual, her lover showed up. But tonight, Himawari was in one of her rare bad moods. The strands of her hair, not in their usual design when she was in school and was loose to curl around her shoulders, practically radiated with fury.

 

“What is it?”

 

“The whole school is alienating and picking on Watanuki! He doesn’t think we know about it, but I know very well. I know that Doumeki knows too! He’s far more observant than Watanuki gives him credit for.”

 

The dimensional witch sipped her sake. “You should have known that would happen. Same sex romances, in reality, are very hard to accept for a lot of people; not to mention the fact that Doumeki-kun is extremely popular and now it’s been show that not only is he dating someone, it’s another guy who nobody noticed before now.”

 

Himawari chewed on her nail a little, still pacing, even while Maru and Moro had fun playing with the ribbons she had worn that day. “There has to be something we can do about it.”

 

“Well, part of the fault that it’s getting so out of hand is Watanuki,” she replied. “He naturally runs away instead of resolving conflicts. If he kept his head high and proud, ignoring it, then it probably wouldn’t be so bad. But what does he do instead? He runs away, hiding from them, which only encourages them.”

 

It seemed to give Himawari and idea and she grinned. “I know!”

 

“What is it?”

 

“Konoo-kun!”

 

“You mean the captain of Doumeki’s archery team?”

 

“Absolutely!”

 

“Interesting idea,” she murmured, sipping her sake. Konoo Kusanagi was a very interesting character that she chose to use to her advantage. He was also a wild card and it was difficult to tell what he would do at any given circumstance.

 

This was proving to be quite entertaining.

 

<b><I>~*~*~</b></I>

 

“Oi, why won’t you tell me?”

 

“Tell you what?!” Watanuki demanded as he and his boyfriend were currently in his apartment studying. His temper had grown a whole lot shorter after the harassment he was receiving and he was liable to yell a lot more than he used to.

 

“That the kids at school are bothering you.”

 

“<I>If you know then why are you asking me?!</I>” he yelled automatically, even while his mind pondered the fact that somehow Doumeki had known about it in the first place.

 

“Because I was waiting for you to tell me.” There was a pause. “Kimihiro, you rely on me with the spiritual stuff, but why won’t you rely on me in any other way?”

 

“Aren’t we supposed to be studying?!”

 

“Answer me.”

 

“No.”

 

“Answer me.”

 

“<I>Will you shut up?!”</I>”

 

“Answer me.”

 

Doumeki’s stubborn insistence, the fact that it didn’t seem to matter what he said, grated on his nerves. Just how was he supposed to deal with this whole situation?! First the kids at school and now even his boyfriend was harassing him.

 

“Damn it, just leave me alone!” he yelled. “I can take care of it myself! I don’t need your protection!”

 

As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized what a mistake he’d made. Doumeki’s mouth fell into a hard line and the book was snapped closed. Watanuki floundered as suddenly his boyfriend began packing up his school supplies. “Fine. I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

 

He was frozen to his spot, unable to stand or reach out for his boyfriend and pull him back and when he heard the door open and close, he knew he’d lost his chance. He was such an idiot! Why did he have to take it out on Doumeki? He’d only wanted to help him; he only loved him…

 

That night, the bespectacled boy cried himself to sleep.

 

<b><I>~*~*~</b></I>

 

The next morning, Doumeki wasn’t speaking to him. He didn’t know where his boyfriend had gone or when he had come back. By the time he had fallen asleep, the apartment had still been quiet. This wasn’t like just getting away from each other for a night and meeting in school the next day, all better. Doumeki’s parents had kicked him out of the temple when he had made it no secret that he was in love with a boy.

 

Conversation between them as they walked to school was nil except for one question ventured by Watanuki and received such a cold answer that he didn’t dare attempt any more after that.

 

“Why have you never hid our relationship?”

 

“Because it’s no one else’s business.”

 

Doumeki wouldn’t even look at him and Watanuki had never felt so lonely before, even though his boyfriend was walking next to him.

 

Classes were hell as always and he barely endured the day, as he had been the last few since the Culture Festival. And for some reason, he ended up eating lunch alone. Doumeki wouldn’t come, Konoo was nowhere to be found, and Himawari had been seen speaking with her friends. He could only stare the expanse of the blue sky above him and wondered what he had done that was so wrong that he was being punished like this.

 

He’d never been so happy as he was with Doumeki, no matter how much he might yell at him or get angry. He felt so unreasonably upset when Doumeki was angry with him and out of sorts. No matter what he had done in the past, no matter how he yelled or got in scrapes, Doumeki had never been mad at him before. It was a whole new feeling that every beat of his heart was painful and without Doumeki there, he began to wonder for what reason did he endure all the jibes from his classmates.

 

What was he talking about? It wasn’t like they’d broken up, right? He just had to go and talk to Doumeki about it. Grabbing up the bento, which he hadn’t really eaten and only picked at, he headed toward the archery range, trying to be as stealthy and unnoticeable as possible. He’d avoided the place since the Culture Festival, but it was the only place he thought Doumeki might be.

 

Oddly enough, the club area seemed to be deserted except for a lone figure. Just one glance was enough to tell him that it was not Doumeki. Doumeki, while tall, was not that tall and if he could say so, far more dignified than the outline he saw practicing.

 

“Konoo-kun?”

 

The arrow was let loose and it hit the bulls-eye before Konoo turned and smiled. “Watanuki-san, what are you doing here? Doumeki-kun’s not here, if you were looking for him.”

 

“Oh,” he muttered, deflated.

 

A hand touched his shoulder and he blinked, surprised that he hadn’t even noticed Konoo move. “Is there something worrying you? You haven’t been yourself lately. You seem to be hiding a lot on the roof.”

 

Watanuki shrugged and went to sit down on the edge of the firing range. “Doumeki and I had a fight last night.”

 

“Let’s hope it wasn’t over the fact that you’re still calling him by his last name,” Konoo joked and sat down next to him.

 

He flushed. “No, I call him by his first name.”

 

“Just not when anyone else is around, right?”

 

There was silence for a bit, but Watanuki felt compelled to talk. As if it was Konoo’s very aura that invited people to confide in him. “Am I in the wrong, Konoo-kun? Things just haven’t been right since the Culture Festival.”

 

Konoo’s brown eyes watched him for a few more seconds. “Possibly. I’m going to tell you the truth, Watanuki-san. You honestly expected Doumeki-kun to kiss someone, didn’t you? That hurt Doumeki-kun. You didn’t trust him and you also wanted to hide your relationship. Just because of that, Doumeki-kun had to do such a drastic measure in direct contrast to what you were doing.”

 

“How do you know him so well?” he whispered, suddenly feeling depressed. Did he really know his boyfriend at all? Sure there were some things only he knew, but that was hardly any consolation.

 

Konoo laughed a little. “Well, let me tell you an interesting story that I’ve been watching for a long time. There was once a boy who entered this high school named Doumeki Shizuka. He was a natural on the bow and won a lot of competitions, but had no friends. Then another boy showed up named Watanuki Kimihiro. These two were like night and day. Where Doumeki-kun was stoic and friendless, Watanuki-kun appeared to be friendly and lively. For some strange reason, though, when these two met, they ended up fighting and not speaking to each other. Then several months later, suddenly they became inseparable. Despite Watanuki-kun’s yelling and insistence that they hated each other, it appeared as if Doumeki-kun really cared for the boy next to him and they became friends. You see, Watanuki-kun really only relaxed and could argue and yell and be himself around Doumeki-kun so everyone could see how great friends they had become.”

 

Watanuki felt very awkward, but his sapphire eyes were riveted on the captain of the archery team, who seemed not to mind at all. The avid way he talked, the friendly demeanor, even how he earnestly seemed to want to help…Hearing about his relationship with Doumeki from a completely outside point of view was, not to put to fine a point on it, intriguing.

 

“Then one day, Watanuki-kun decided to make Doumeki-kun lunches and always seemed to make Doumeki-kun’s lunch what he asked for, even when he yelled that he wouldn’t. Soon it became so that you thought it was unnatural when they were <I>apart</I> instead of together. As time went by, it became obvious that Doumeki-kun was beginning to fall in love with his companion. And much to the joy of both of them, his feelings were reciprocated. But Watanuki-kun wasn’t comfortable with their relationship and was afraid of a lot of things: rejection, opinions, even of the love itself, as if he thought he wasn’t worthy of it. Then they had a big fight over it and began to not speak to each other.”

 

“How does the story end?” he asked, somewhat breathlessly, feeling as if tears were gathering at the corners of his eyes.

 

“I don’t know,” Konoo answered in a soft voice. “Watanuki-san, I’ve been watching Doumeki-kun for a long time now. He was never close to me, but I’ve always felt like an older brother to him. He’s not the kind of person who finds shame in this kind of relationship. He loves you and doesn’t care who knows about it. The fact that you do bothers him. It makes him think that you’re ashamed of it, of him.”

 

“But I’m not!” Watanuki protested. “It’s just that…!”

 

Konoo held up his hands in a placating manner. “I know, I know, but if you don’t talk to him, how is he supposed to know that?”

 

<I>Yuuko lifted her pipe to her lips and shrugged. “Watanuki, if you don’t tell Doumeki-kun what you’re feeling, how is he supposed to know? He’s not a mind reader, you know.”</I>

 

It was just like Yuuko had told him and he gripped his hair in frustration. This wasn’t fair! Why was it always <I>his</I> fault?! Why could Konoo know all these things about Doumeki and not him?!

 

“It’s because I’ve known Doumeki-kun a lot longer than you. Even before we entered high school.”

 

That might be true…wait…he hadn’t said that aloud. Slowly, he lifted his head and his pupils contracted in fear. He tried inching away, but that hand touched his shoulder gently. He winced and it was only because he did actually like Konoo that he didn’t start running in fear.

 

“Don’t be afraid, Watanuki-san. I think I have something that you might understand, being like you are.” There was an embarrassed smile on the captain’s lips. “I’m a telepath, medium-strength. Sometimes your thoughts are just so strong to get past my defenses; other times…I open up my wards to let whatever thoughts you’re thinking in. Everyone’s like a radio. It’s not like in books where people who are telepathic get to go into people’s heads or not. Thoughts just come at you.”

 

Watanuki slowly relaxed. He did understand strange gifts like that. After all, he had the gift of attracting every damn spirit in the entirety of Japan. Besides, he couldn’t really be afraid of Konoo, not when he held such a welcoming smile.

 

“I hope that I was able to help you out some. I think that your best solution is to just talk it out with Doumeki-kun. There’s nothing you do about the school, I think it was just a shock to them. But if you don’t have Doumeki-kun, then what is the purpose of enduring what they’re saying, right?”

 

“Thanks…Konoo-kun,” he murmured and stood. The bell signaling the end of lunch was going to go off any minute.


	4. Chapter 4

_If I was allowed one happiness, it would be to be with that person forever. The one who's touch would hold me; the one's caress would love me. The eyes that are so kind and gentle follow me. All the thoughts are about me in that person's head. I am happy._

Watanuki stared at the textbook page, re-reading the passage again as the teacher droned on past it about its significance. It was almost too frighteningly accurate to his relationship with his boyfriend. He could relate to the author a little, but he doubted the person who wrote the passage had ever had quite so complicated a situation.

"Che," he muttered as the bell rang and he shoved his books in his bag. Lunch had been taken up by talking with Konoo and he didn't share any classes with Doumeki, so he hadn't had any time to go look for his boyfriend and try to resolve the situation. Not that there was much he could resolve.

Trying to ignore the whispers and stares, and the fact that many moved away from him farther than necessary when walking, he stepped out of the doors leading into the courtyard of the school building. To his overwhelming relief, that tall figure dominated the area near the gates, obviously waiting for him. What didn't make him feel better was that he was surrounded by a gaggle of girls. When he got closer, he realized that they were asking him if the rumor of his relationship with Watanuki was true, and why he had been chosen.

Depression seeped into his bones and it took every bit of courage he could screw up to walk over to them. Doumeki's golden eyes touched his and thankfully they weren't cold like they had been the night before when he'd stalked out of their apartment. The fact that no matter how many questions the girls had asked, Doumeki hadn't answered left him feeling somewhat in awe of his boyfriend. How he could just so completely ignore things like that, judging them inconsequential, amazed him.

"Let's go."

Watanuki couldn't say a word with all those girls, feeling intimidated by their hostile gazes, but the arm that somehow slid around his waist bolstered his emotions a little. The girls parted to allow them to pass and it was only when the school was far behind and he could no longer feel the stares in his back that he could relax.

"You don't seem mad anymore," he prompted hesitantly when the silence had gone on a little too long to be comfortable.

"I'm not."

When no more appeared to be coming forth, he grew unexpectedly irritated. True, Doumeki never talked a whole lot, but Watanuki still felt as he were being punished for what he said. It wasn't a cold atmosphere or anything, but just a strange and out of place feeling.

"Where did you go at lunch? I couldn't find you."

"Kunogi wanted to talk to me."

Himawari-chan? Talking to Doumeki? About what? He chewed on his tongue a little, lightly, and wondered if he dared say anything. His jealousy would become obvious and he felt it wasn't right for him to be jealous since it was him who used to fawn over her before they had started dating.

"I talked with Konoo-san this afternoon. He says that he's a telepath."

Doumeki shrugged, but there was a faint tilt of his lips that hinted at contemplation. "I'm not entirely surprised about something like that. Konoo has always been a little too knowing and calm."

"H-How long have you known him?"

Watanuki had hoped that the question came out more naturally than he thought it did. His boyfriend glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, but he stubbornly refused to let their gazes meet. This was something he could feel justifiably jealous of, he knew. Konoo had hinted that his relationship with Doumeki had been going on for several years and he knew so much more than Watanuki did. It made him…sad.

"About two years, I guess. He was my senior in junior high."

"How c-close were you two, w-would you say?"

The gaze was now fully on him and he could feel its probing questions. He winced a little and tightened his grip on his school bag. Doumeki's arm around his waist seemed almost abnormally warm and he was reminded that they had yet to 'consummate' their relationship. It brought a blush to his cheeks and wondered if that was the root of his insecurity, even though he was the one who kept putting Doumeki off.

"Not very close. He's always looked out for me though I haven't asked him to, but we've never really talked before."

Yuuko's shop was coming into view and he was glad of that, for once in his life. Work could put a lot of these things out of his mind for him and for that, he was grateful. He knew that when he went home tonight, there was probably going to be a huge talk with his boyfriend and he needed to gather what wits he could before delving into that.

"Oi."

Watanuki paused at the gates, having pulled from his boyfriend's one-armed embrace automatically. He glanced over his shoulder and put both hands on his hips, despite his bag. "What?"

There were lips on his again almost instantly and his knees never failed to turn to jelly at the sweetness that he was absorbing through his mouth at that instant. He'd never live it down if Yuuko saw this…and he just knew she was somewhere in the yard hiding with a camera. He'd have to find her and confiscate it before he left.

Then it was over and he was left with blushing red cheeks. As usual, Doumeki looked smug and ran a thumb over the bespectacled boy's lips, as if remembering the softness that he caressed just then. He didn't say anything, but that wasn't unusual, considering the fact that Watanuki had never met someone more stoic than the archer.

"Wa-ta-nu-ki-kuuuuuuun!"

That annoying, singsong voice penetrated his daze and he growled under his breath in annoyance.

If he had thought work would be an escape, he had thought dead wrong. Not only did Yuuko not want to talk about anything other than his relationship with Doumeki, but she also kept him busier than he had ever been before since he became her part-time helper. By the time he left that evening and headed home, he was frazzled and ready to scream.

When he unlocked his apartment, as quiet as it was, it was not the stillness quiet he had gotten used to for years and years. If he really listened, he could hear his boyfriend's breathing somewhere, most likely the living room, and the faint shifting of his position or a page turn. It was always strange to come home to something like that. He had even gotten out of the habit of saying he was home, like any normal Japanese person would.

He found Doumeki in the living room, reading a book that could only have come from his grandfather's library. The pages seemed yellowed with age and the handwriting nearly illegible, but the history that they carried in each rough area and in each stroke was clearly felt even considering all that.

"When did you go get that?"

"Yesterday night. I went back to the temple to pick up a lot of the books."

Watanuki remembered that Doumeki's family didn't approve of the supernatural. He dropped down to sit on the other end of the sofa that his boyfriend was lounging on, having to shove the feet out of the way first. "Were you afraid they'd get rid of them?"

"Something like that."

An awkward silence followed and he watched with butterflies in his stomach as Doumeki closed and put aside the book, the golden eyes not once shifting from the nervous form of Watanuki.

"I'll go make dinner now," he muttered hastily, but when he was standing up, arms went around his shoulders and dragged him back down.

Amid the fumbling for a few seconds, when it settled down, Watanuki found himself lying on the sofa with his boyfriend, cuddling. Hot breath at his ear made him shiver and then there were lips nuzzling and nipping gently on his neck.

"Sh-Shizuka?"

"Please tell me what you're thinking, Kimihiro. I want to know the things that bother you and I want to protect you."

"B-But you _do_ protect me!" he protested, but no matter how he wiggled, those arms were steadfast in their determination to keep him in the tangled mess that was their cuddle on the small sofa he had. "All those jobs of Yuuko-san's—"

"I want to protect you from more than just that."

Realization dawned on him and he closed his eyes, staring at the floor, feeling the warmth of Doumeki's chest on his back distracting in the highest regard. "You're talking about school, aren't you?"

There was a faint sound that was probably an agreement, but then his boyfriend's hands were wandering and causing him to shudder. It was obvious that thoughts of protection and school were not first and foremost to the boy he had come to love. A hand slipped off his glasses and they fell to the floor without a sound.

"Kimihiro, let me make you mine."

Could he possibly deny his boyfriend anything when he spoke in that husky, sexy voice? Breathing his request in a whisper against his ear so that there was no way he could say no?

"I-I already am," he objected weakly, his resolve weakening when he realized just how aroused they both were becoming.

"You're not mine yet…not entirely. I want all of you. Let me make you mine in everything. I have your heart…now I want your body."

Watanuki gasped when one of the archer's larger hands was cupping him gently, rubbing the bulge in his pants in a reassuring, but also pleading way. His cheeks flushed red and he could feel the kisses like fire that Doumeki was placing on the back of his neck.

"A-all right," he stuttered.

That night, Watanuki learned some things about Doumeki Shizuka that Konoo would never learn, such as the sound he makes when there was a tongue licking his nipples…

He was drowsy now, spent from the heavy night of love, and the air was sticky and hot so that he didn't want to be under the sheets. What little of the hot, humid air came in would hopefully cool down his body and calm his racing heart. His back was one massive ache, but he didn't regret it.

Doumeki had been as gentle as he could be.

"Oi."

"What?" he muttered fuzzily, still basking in the afterglow of the fourth time that night.

"My parents want to meet you on Sunday."

"Okay— _what?_ "

His sleepiness disappeared in an instant and he was sitting up, staring down at his reclining, unconcerned boyfriend in shock. What the hell was all this about?! Why'd he have to spring it on him like this?! Right after making love for the _fourth time_ that night, and then he told him that his parents wanted to meet him? That was just a bad joke!

"I thought your parents said they'd disown you for being with me!"

Doumeki shrugged. "I dunno. They just said they wanted to meet you next Sunday. Don't worry, I'm going to be there too."

How could he put the fact that he really didn't want to go so that Doumeki didn't get upset at him or that he didn't insult his partner's family? Was there really a good way of saying he didn't want to meet family of his beloved? He had a very bad feeling about all this…

"You going to go?"

Watanuki forced a smile as best he could. "Of course. They're your parents."


	5. Chapter 5

Watanuki must have checked his appearance for the fiftieth time and Doumeki leveled him with an annoyed look as he fidgeted on the base of the steps to the shrine. Like everything else in life, things you wanted to avoid would make time go so much faster and things you looked forward to made time go slower. This was one of those times where the week of school seemed to go by in a blur and before he knew it, it was Sunday. Konoo, having obviously picked up on his distress, had quietly tried to reassure him as best he could, but he just knew that this wasn't going to go over well.

He counted the steps it took to the front door to hopefully calm his beating heart, but it didn't work. Especially not when he remembered that when Yuuko had found out about his little meeting with his boyfriend's parents, she had gotten very quiet and serious for the rest of the afternoon. He wondered if she did that on purpose, because she _knew_ he hated it when she did that and it made him all the more nervous.

"They're not spirits. They're not going to eat you," Doumeki's dry voice interrupted his thoughts.

The door opened before he could form a suitably irritated reply. The eyes that met his, which were a shade of amber so dark that it looked molten and alive, were angry and fierce. He felt a shiver go down his spine, as they were not at all friendly. The features set around those eyes were harsh and forbidding, much more so than Shizuka's. There was no way ever that this man in front of him would be mistaken for feminine in any way. In fact, he was taller than his son and much more stockily built. It was not to say he was fat, but definitely built heavier.

"G-G-Good evening," he muttered, fighting the urge to step back. Those fists were ham like and strong, and they looked as if they could have easily broken his arm.

"Good evening."

The voice wasn't welcoming either and much deeper than his boyfriend's. He thought for a second that the man wouldn't move, but finally he moved aside and back into the shrine. Doumeki's hand touched his elbow and gently steered him inside and the back of his father was ramrod straight and radiating disapproval.

Damn it, if he didn't love Shizuka this much, he would so be out the door and down the street in seconds by now.

"You must be Watanuki-san. I am Naoko, and this is my husband, Kyoichirou."

If his boyfriend's father was imposing, his mother was the opposite. She was small and light, with a pretty face, but it was marred by a bone-weariness that he often saw in older mothers with very rambunctious and hard to control children, but he didn't think Shizuka was the cause of that. Was it because it was tiring on her nerves to be married to a man that seemed to be rule his family with an iron fist?

"Eh…" he said in shy agreement, suddenly feeling bad for the fiasco he and Shizuka had had when he had been turned into a girl and they'd had to steal her bra.

"Well, why don't you sit down and Shizuka and I will get some tea."

"Kimihiro can make better tea," his boyfriend interrupted.

The woman gave a weary smile. "But it wouldn't be right to have the guest make the tea."

Shizuka frowned, but followed his mother into the kitchen, leaving Watanuki to fidget alone in front of an overbearing father. He tried to avoid looking into that terrifying gaze, but it was compelling in its intensity and he had little choice but to meet it. From what he could remember, his own father and Doumeki Kyoichirou couldn't be more different. He could remember the gentle and compassionate hand of his father when he was sick and the soft tones he spoke in. Mild-mannered, would be a better term.

"I'm going to get right into it here."

"E-Eh?" he stuttered, and suddenly felt like running, only that bull-like body was blocking the door.

"Leave Shizuka."

"You want me to _what_?" His voice was barely above a whisper in surprise, but already the simple two words had put him on the edge and defensive. And like any cat when put on the defensive, he could draw blood if necessary.

"I want you to leave Shizuka. Break up with him, never speak to him again, and let him come back home."

"Hey, I'm not holding him with me against his will," he replied, trying to remain calm and not put in his tone that of the belligerence and irritation he felt. "He's the one that confessed to me first."

This was apparently not what Doumeki Kyoichirou wanted to hear. Those eyes were suddenly cruel and unforgiving and he found himself moving backwards until he hit the wall, taking two steps for every one that his boyfriend's father took. He'd never actually been in any true physical fight before, where there was a definite possibility of extreme harm coming to him from another human being.

"That doesn't matter. Now, break up with him and never show your face to him again."

Kyoichirou was apparently the type that got his way more often than not, and while Watanuki tended toward the obedient side, thanks to Yuuko and Shizuka, he was not a wilting violet. He had learned that when spirits pushed him, he pushed back. And metaphorically, he pushed back here. "If he wants to leave me, that's his decision, not yours or mine. Besides, _you_ were the one that threatened to disown him."

It all happened so fast that the only thing Watanuki could register was a rushing of wind and sudden pain exploding in his cheek. If he hadn't been backed up against the wall, he would have hit the floor. There was a faint trickle of warm, red liquid staining his pale skin and he realized that the ring Kyoichirou wore had cut him when he'd been slapped.

He'd been slapped hard.

And suddenly Watanuki was terrified. He'd never been hit by anybody before, especially not someone of Kyoichirou sheer _size_. He was being towered over imposingly, eyes only filled with anger at being refused. His knees went weak and he had lost his voice to call for aid.

"Now, you listen to me. You _will_ stop this nonsense of 'being in love' and return Shizuka to his family. Then you will never speak to him again or go near him or this temple. Have I made myself clear?"

Breath flew in and out of his mouth as he opened it, trying for a terrifying minute to remember how to speak. Perhaps it was because of the changes that the spirit tree spoke of when he met Yuuko, but somehow, the words that came out when he finally could articulate his answer were not what he would have expected under any circumstances.

"N-No. I-I-I won't l-leave him."

He winced when he saw that hand coming down on him again, a fist this time instead of an open-palmed slap, but it never came. There was the sound of a tray hitting the floor and he opened one eye to find that strong fist inches from his face, but not moving. He followed the arm with his eyes to find none other than his very pissed off boyfriend holding that massive strength in check with _one hand_ on Kyoichirou's wrist.

"Don't you _dare_ touch him."

Watanuki had never heard such a low but fervent whisper of rage come from Shizuka's mouth in his whole life. His cheek was throbbing in pain, but the shallow cut had stopped bleeding. He glanced at the doorway of the living room, to find Naoko covering her face with her hands, as if determined not to interfere and pretend what was happening wasn't.

"Don't interfere, Shizuka."

Those golden eyes he had learned to love looked at him and noticed his cheek, which he was sure was turning purple around the edges of the red. That enraged look of his voice seeped into his eyes and with as lightning fast movement as his father, Shizuka had leveled a much stronger punch straight onto Kyoichirou's jaw. It didn't knock him down like he would have expected, forcing him only to stumble back, but anything was an improvement.

Though he wanted badly to throw himself into Shizuka's arms when his boyfriend turned around without a word, he was too much in shock. He hadn't even noticed his glasses were askew until those gentle hands fixed them for him.

"Kimihiro?"

When a sharp sting registered in his senses instead of a dull throb, he realized that he was crying salty tears. He could tell his hands were shaking when his boyfriend gripped them and he realized that they were rock solid and still.

"C-Can we go home?" Watanuki whispered and was thrilled when a single nod of his head was his agreement.

He waited tensely as they passed Shizuka's father, waited for him to reach out and grab one of them, but there was nothing. Naoko merely moved aside to let them pass, that weary look and premature lines on her face more pronounced than before. As they reached the doorway, Kyoichirou's voice lanced across the silence.

"You walk out that door with him, you can never come back here. Ever."

"Fine. I don't ever want to come back."

Silence surrounded them as they left the shrine and his shaking progressed from his hands to his body until his boyfriend could only wrap him up in a tight embrace. He grabbed fistfuls of Shizuka's shirt, almost ripping it, as he held on tightly. His cheek was stinging painfully, because he could not stop crying, and the throbbing was like the beat of his heart: fast and hurtful.

"Kimihiro…I'm sorry. I didn't think that he'd go that far."

"So you knew…"

"I knew that he wouldn't accept you, but I never once thought he'd hit you. Forgive me. Please, I beg you. I couldn't stand it if you hated me."

Hearing the raw pleading in that deep voice only made him cry harder. He couldn't even manage to stop long enough to reassure his boyfriend that he didn't hate him. He had come to his rescue, hadn't he? He had never been hit in his life before. How could Shizuka be related to Kyoichirou? They didn't seem at all alike. Or perhaps…they were too alike and had Shizuka turned out different, the steel-like resolve of his boyfriend would have also ended up with the tyranny his father displayed.

"H-how did you know?"

"With the eye. I could see it when he was about to hit you."

"But not the first time?"

Those arms tightened so much it was like crushing him, but it felt so warm that he dared not even move. "No…"

Watanuki couldn't say anymore and could only cry, disregarding the stares of those on the busy street. For once, he didn't care what other people thought. All he wanted was to be comforted and the one person who could do that after all this was Shizuka. He knew he was going to have to explain to Yuuko about the heavy bruise on his cheek, but for now, it was nice to be with someone who made no demands on him and who understood.

It was nice to be loved.


	6. Chapter 6

The black hair was as expressive as the anger in her dark green eyes. Kunogi Himawari was not a happy powerful, age-old sorceress. She paced in annoyance, still wearing her school uniform, in Yuuko's bedroom, being watched by the Dimensional Witch herself, who looked no more pleased about the situation than she did.

"He deserves a horrible, horrible fate," the younger sorceress complained, wringing her hands together like she was wringing someone's neck. If Yuuko looked closely, she would swear she saw the jaw of her lover tight with gritted teeth.

"He'll get what's coming to him soon," she replied.

"It isn't soon enough!" was the snapped reply.

"Oh, it will be."

The girl looked up, green eyes lighting up with a smile that was almost cruel at whatever thoughts were going on in her head. Yuuko raised an eyebrow. Kunogi Himawari did not often lose her temper and her spells were usually harmless ones, but she when she was angry, that's when things began to get a little on the shady side. She was not bound by the same rules that Yuuko was, which kept the Dimensional Witch from taking any active retaliation without a wish.

"Just don't do anything drastic just yet," she muttered in the silence, bringing her sake cup to her lips. "Don't do anything you might regret or that might harm Watanuki or Doumeki-kun in the long run."

"You think I don't know that?!"

"I think that when you get angry and lose your temper, you do things on the spur of the moment and not look at the big picture," she replied coolly.

"You're so cruel, Yuuko-chan."

"I'm only stating the truth. Now come here and lay down with me and we'll see how this all plays out."

Despite the pout of Himawari's lips, she crawled onto the bed and cuddled at the Dimensional Witch's side, draping an arm over that thin stomach. "I envy your figure," she muttered, beginning to leave kisses on that enticing neck.

Yuuko smirked and set down her cup, one hand sliding under the skirt of her lover's uniform. "I know."

"Come here, Watanuki."

"Eh?" He paused in the middle of pulling on the cloth he covered his hair with when cleaning in Yuuko's house and looked at the owner in question. She seemed unusually serious and held a bottle of what looked like cream in her hands. "What is it?"

"Something that will help that bruise."

She actually hadn't asked how he had gotten it, but that was probably because she already knew. It wasn't like it was unnoticeable. Looking in the mirror that morning had proven his cheek had swollen a little and was discolored, the purple and brown mixing together unhealthily. There was even that tint of yellow at the edges already. Doumeki's father really did pack a punch and that probably wasn't his hardest hit.

Yuuko peeled off the Band-Aid on his cheek that covered the shallow cut he'd gotten from the wedding ring and tossed it in the trash. The cream she applied was white, as most creams were, and ice cold. It stung on the still healing cut, but not for long. Her fingers were surprisingly gentle.

"How much do I owe you for that?" he asked, but it was merely a question, not his usual snippy comments.

"The price has been paid already."

"Did Shizuka…?"

"No."

"Then who paid…?"

Her burgundy eyes glanced at him warningly. "If you want to know, _you_ will have to pay an equal price and it is not a small one."

That admonition she had given him rung in his ears and he didn't ask any more. He touched his cheek as he went back to work, finding the cream slippery and still ice cold, despite the fact that normal cream would have become slightly warm due to his body temperature. Then again, this was cream that _Yuuko_ had, and like her, it was not surprising it was abnormal.

By the time Watanuki finished work, the cream had faded into his skin and he could no longer feel the sting of the cut or bruise. Glances in the mirror showed that the discoloration didn't seem as bad as in the morning and the swelling was no longer there. It was still obvious he'd been hit, but thankfully it wasn't as bad as before.

As usual, his boyfriend was waiting for him beside the gate. They hadn't really spoken the night before when they finally got home, considering Watanuki's emotional state at the time. Now, he could only blush in embarrassment at his breakdown of sobbing in the middle of the street.

"You look better."

"Huh?"

"The bruise."

"Oh, that. Yuuko-san put some strange cream on it."

Almost as if he were hesitant, Doumeki's arm slid around his waist as it usually did when they went home, but unlike usual, Watanuki didn't throw up a fuss. He only leaned a little more into the embrace.

"What am I going to do about school tomorrow? I didn't go today, but I can't just not go to school because of this bruise."

"Why not?"

"Why not what?"

"Why can't you go to school because of the bruise?"

"B-Because. They might think we had a fight and you hit me."

Fingers gently turned his chin to look at his boyfriend and those lips were so soft and gentle, caressing his mouth in a reassuring and loving way. It made his knees go weak as usual and he couldn't imagine living without this warmth. He blinked somewhat dazed eyes when it was over.

"You're still worrying about what other people think. So long as you know that I would never hurt you, it doesn't matter what others say."

Doumeki's ability to totally disregard the rest of the human race and society never ceased to be a source of amazement to Watanuki. So long as it didn't get in the way of what he wanted and loved, the archer honestly didn't give a damn about society and what others thought.

"Let's go home."

"Eh…"

As he had predicted, the school broke out in frantic whispering gossip when the story of his bruise got around. Nobody asked him about it and for that, Watanuki was glad. He wouldn't know what to answer: he could hardly tell the truth about his boyfriend's family, that would be rude and unconscionable, but he also didn't know what else he could possibly say. Saying he fell was out of the question as well as saying Doumeki hit him.

He knew that Konoo wouldn't ask, but Himawari not asking was a piece of luck as well. Lunch was like it normally was and he didn't even feel the soreness in his cheek. Half the time, he forgot he even had a bruise. Lunch was actually the most enjoyable he'd ever had, laughing and joking with the four of them and he found himself sorely disappointed when it ended.

Watanuki endured the gossip until the end of school and looked forward to when he could go home with his boyfriend, only to find the boy in question was talking with someone in a suit. Frowning, he made his way to them. Doumeki's expression hadn't changed, but he could tell by the set of the shoulders that he wasn't pleased about something.

"What's wrong?"

The man bowed and excused himself toward a nearby waiting car. Doumeki didn't answer for a moment until he finally shrugged and proceeded to tug Watanuki along behind him, going in the direction to their apartment.

"Hey! I can walk on my own, you don't have to drag me, damn it! Who was that guy?!"

Doumeki's steps didn't slow, but he did let go of the bespectacled boy's arm. "He came to tell my parents were in a car accident. My mother died and my father is in critical condition in the hospital. He's expected to make a full recovery."

"Then what are you doing here?! Go see him at the hospital!"

"No."

The firm word, almost said savagely, made him stop in his tracks. His heart was hurting so bad and he clutched at his chest. He didn't have any parents and even if Doumeki's family wasn't the nicest, he still _had_ them. Even if he never spoke to them, they were still alive.

"Go, Shizuka. Go to the hospital."

His voice was strange, so calm and unlike him. It caused his boyfriend to pause and turn around. "No."

Watanuki's calm cracked instantly and he yelled, " _If you don't go see him, I'll never forgive you! I'll never speak to you again!"_

Silence…

He opened his eyes to the stoic face of his boyfriend. There was no expression in those golden eyes and while tears filled his own sapphire ones. He had to go to work and he broke into a run toward Yuuko's shop. Doumeki didn't call him back or try to stop him.


	7. Chapter 7

Doumeki knew he was there. There was no way he could ever not recognize that gaze on his back, even if he were hiding somewhere. It sent chills of pleasure and love down his spine, even when they weren't happy with him, and it was the reason he had been able to pick out his boyfriend during the Culture Festival.

Watanuki hadn't spoken to him the night before at all when he'd gotten home from work at Yuuko's. No matter what he had tried to do, he'd only gotten a cold attitude from his significant other until he couldn't take it any more. He honestly hadn't wanted to come to the hospital. He'd never ever forgive his father for laying one hand on Watanuki, but if he didn't come…

He knew why Watanuki was so upset at him for not wanting to go to the hospital. Watanuki had lost both his parents in the blink of an eye and never even had the chance to say goodbye. It must have been a sacrilege to hear that when his boyfriend had had the chance to see his father that he didn't want to go.

But how could he possibly forgive this man? Why was he standing outside the door to the hospital room that housed his father? True, it had been his mother that had wanted to meet Watanuki; true, he had thought it strange that his father agreed. But for what reason could _that man_ hit his beloved?

The gaze on his back was burrowing into him like daggers and he finally opened the door. He knew that Watanuki wouldn't eavesdrop; he just wanted to see if he went. The only reason he was here was because of Watanuki. His fist clenched, still feeling the anger from their last and what he had hoped was their final meeting.

There were bandages on almost every part of his father, but he at least was able to breathe on his own without needing life support. And as much as he hated it, he did breathe a sigh of relief. If his father had died, he really would have been as without family as Watanuki. He knew very well that Watanuki was jealous of the fact that he still had family left and he really wished because of that that his father could have accepted them.

"I didn't think…you'd come to see me."

"I didn't want to," he replied, sitting in the chair next to the bed and crossing his arms over his chest.

The golden eyes he'd inherited opened and looked at him. They were so much darker than his own and so much crueler. His father had always held an iron control over everyone in his family, which was probably why he hadn't spent much time at home when he was a child. He had always been going to the temple to visit his grandfather until he'd died and then they'd moved into the temple to take care of it.

"Then why did you come?"

"Because Kimihiro wanted me to."

"Why would he want you to…after what I did to him?"

He'd never heard his father speak in such a breathy and light voice. It wavered often, the strength that he'd always known gone. Was it because of his injuries or because of the fact that his wife was dead? Perhaps while he had been much like a tyrant in his family, he had still cared in his own way? Well, even if that were true, Doumeki didn't care. He had hit his beloved and he could never forgive that.

"Because he lost his own family instantly when he was a child and has no other family. He never said it, but I know that he's jealous of me." His gaze became sharper and more admonishing. "That's why I had wanted you to accept him. Because he lost his own family, he couldn't stand the fact that I wouldn't come visit you when I almost lost all of my own."

Doumeki Kyoichirou didn't say anything for a long time after that and they merely sat there in silence. Even when the nurse came in and out, they said nothing. Sometimes Shizuka would leave the room to stretch his legs and it was during this time that he saw Watanuki.

Or rather, that Watanuki wasn't hiding from him.

"Oi."

His boyfriend's cheeks turned bright red in embarrassment and he looked away, but his hands were clutching something that could only be food in his hands. "I-I thought you both might want something to eat."

He reached out to touch that bruised cheek so very lightly and kiss it softly. He had been worried that Watanuki would truly never speak to him again. "Do you want to come see him? He can't hurt you anymore and I won't ever leave your side."

Watanuki shifted nervously. "I don't know…I don't think he'd want to see me and I don't want to intrude on your conversation."

Doumeki shrugged. "What conversation? We haven't talked for hours."

"You're kidding me! You've been here for three hours and you haven't talked at all?!"

A faint smile touched his lips at the outraged words and he left a light kiss on those enticing lips. He really was adorably cute when he was irritated. Watanuki blushed and glanced nervously at the nurses and patients around them, but didn't admonish him for doing such a thing in public. Progress, then, at least when it came to not hiding their relationship.

There was no nurse in his father's room when they entered. Kyoichirou was staring out the window until he heard the door open and close and he turned his head, eyes widening in surprise to see the slim and nervous figure of Watanuki. If it were possible, Doumeki's aura of protection suddenly seemed to grow triple fold and the incident of being hit was on everyone's mind.

Doumeki tugged on Watanuki's arm and managed to get him toward the chair he had once occupied, dragging another from the side of an empty bed and placing it right next to his boyfriend's. He clutched the bento boxes filled with lunch in his arms and the sapphire gaze tried not to meet that of his father's.

"I didn't expect to see you."

"I-I thought you might want something to eat. Hospital food is really awful. I know from experience."

His heart skipped a beat at the shy and nervous smile of his boyfriend, the way the cheeks were flushed pink, and he knew that he had never seen such an adorable visage in all his life. It made him want to make love to him right then, to touch him and hold him and whisper things in his ear. To protect him with his very life and let no one else see him. To seclude him away so that only _he_ could see that expression of gentleness and vulnerability. He reached out and gripped his hand tightly, intertwining their fingers.

The bed elevated a little from the remote control in the older man's hand so that his father was sitting up. Those darker golden eyes glanced at their hands, but he didn't say anything. Shizuka frowned a little, wondering what was going on in the man's head. Any other time, he would have been infuriated, enraged, demanded them to stop. Why was he suddenly changed now?

"Thank you then for the food."

"Y-you're welcome."

Doumeki reached over and opened one of the bento boxes, glancing at what was inside, commenting to his father, "You're not going to find better food than what Kimihiro cooks."

"Is that so?"

"Shizuka!" Watanuki hissed at the same time, cheeks flushing with embarrassment, but Doumeki paid it no heed.

"He makes me lunch every day."

"Only because you demand it!"

"If you didn't want to, you wouldn't make all the stuff I ask you to."

"So you _admit_ the stuff you ask for is outrageous!"

"Never said it wasn't," he answered calmly in return and popped a breaded shrimp into his mouth shamelessly.

" _Shizuka…!_ "

There was a chuckle and it broke into their own little world that they had lapsed into. Doumeki's eyes became suspicious as he watched his father with an amused and fond smile on his face that he'd never, ever seen before. It was so completely divorced from regular behavior that he wondered, after having been dragged into the supernatural like he was, if his father had really died and some spirit had taken over his body.

"Shizuka, you remind me of father."

"You mean…his grandfather?" Watanuki interrupted.

"Yes. They're almost exactly alike. So blunt."

"You're quite mellow about all this now," Doumeki said suspiciously, gripping Watanuki's hand tighter. If there was indeed some different soul in his father's body, regardless of how nice the spirit was, he was going to have to expel it, because it simply was _not_ his father.

The smile disappeared to be replaced by a sad expression and he stared out the window again. "Shizuka, in the past three days, I have lost everything important to me. First my son because I was wasn't accepting enough. Secondly, my wife from a car crash. And thirdly, my left leg, which the doctor says will never work again. Considering all that, what do I have left? Just an empty house and silence. To tell you the truth, I was happy that you came and for that, I have Watanuki-kun to thank. If it wasn't for him, I probably would have never seen you again. I kept thinking when I was unconscious of how it would feel to die having nothing left and so many unresolved conflicts."

"Doumeki-san…"

Watanuki glanced between the two of them, clearly moved by what his father had said. Shizuka wasn't sure how he felt. He didn't believe his father was lying, but some part of him refused to forgive the man for hitting his beloved. No matter how many years passed, even if they reconciled, he didn't think that he'd ever forgive or forget that incident.

"As of right now, all I want is to be with my son." That head turned to look at them sitting beside the bed. "I never believed that such a life or death situation could really change a person until now. When your grandfather died, I felt as if I myself had died with him. I didn't think I'd ever be able to feel anything but pain ever again. That is how much I loved my father. And to think that if I had died and my own son would feel nothing but contempt or worse, nothing at _all_ , at my death terrified me. It made it even worse to know that if that happened, the only one to blame would have been myself. I was tough on you, Shizuka, but only because I wanted you to be strong."

Watanuki's hand tightened in his, as if urging him to speak, but he was not really good at speeches. Nor did he really know what to say, given everything his father had said. He hadn't ever been one for speeches either and this whole thing was new ground that was likely to give way if he stepped down on it too hard.

"I don't know if I will ever forgive you for what you did to Kimihiro." He glanced at his boyfriend and used his free hand to touch that bruised cheek so lightly and it was a testament to that cream of Yuuko's that his boyfriend didn't even flinch in pain. "But if you really want to be a part of my life at all, the first thing you have to do is accept that I love Kimihiro and I will never leave him." He would tell him later when Watanuki wasn't present that if he dared hit him again, he would _kill_ him.

He wasn't someone who usually gave second chances, but for Watanuki's sake, he would reach out his hand once again to his father and give him that rare second chance. If he could give Watanuki even chance to know what it was like to have a family, even if it was only his father left, then he would do so.

Because Watanuki meant everything to him.


	8. Chapter 8

Yuuko waited at the window, the sun brightly shining into the hospital room. She was in a rare bad mood. Or maybe it was better to say it wasn't so much as a bad mood, but neither was it happy. Her eyes glanced at the sleeping figure in the bed. She hadn't really saw it fit to visit this man, but Watanuki kept coming to the shop for the past week with stories of the conversations he had with his boyfriend and his boyfriend's father.

She wasn't exactly sure how Watanuki's current emotional state was. It seemed as if he really wanted such a father figure in his life, but was afraid after the reception he'd had when they had first met. Doumeki wasn't saying anything yes or no, as if he wasn't sure if he approved, but wanted his boyfriend to be happy above all else.

All in all, this was a very tenuous situation that could fall apart instantly, as there was no solid ground in the three-way relationship the men found themselves in. She'd left Mokona home with the girls and frowned at the sunlight. She was not all-powerful. She could not wave a magic wand and make all the bad things go away, so she ignored the conflicting need and fear in her employee's eyes.

"You must be the woman Watanuki-san works for."

"I am," she answered without turning to look at the man in the bed. There was a whirring sound and in the reflection in the window, she saw the bed lift so that Kyoichirou was sitting.

"I didn't expect to ever meet you."

"I didn't either." Finally, she left the window to stand by his bed and stare down at him. "I suppose he told you about what I do?"

"He said you run a shop that specializes in rare items."

Well, that was a surprise. Obviously the bespectacled boy did not trust the man that much to tell about the supernatural aspects of his life. Either that or he was just caught up in habit to not speak of such things. She wouldn't blame Watanuki for erring on the side of caution with this man. She would too.

Wouldn't that be interesting, she thought. She had some extra time. What was a side project or two in the big scheme of things? Perhaps this Doumeki Kyoichirou would prove useful. Not so much as relating to things about Watanuki, but he _was_ the son of Doumeki Shizuka's grandfather, who she had come to gain an almost unhealthy interest in.

"Oh? But that's not entirely true," she told him and sunk into a chair with the panache of a queen, crossing her leg over her other knee and brushing her long, black skirt down just right.

"Then what is it that you do?"

"I grant wishes."

"Wishes?"

"For a price, naturally. Not monetary, I have no use for that," she added with a dismissive flick of her fingers. "I can grant the deepest wishes of the heart." Her eyelids fell half-closed and she smiled her best, most powerful, and mysterious grin. "I have even created gods."

For a moment, Kyoichirou didn't say anything and finally, he let out a sigh, going to stare up at the ceiling. "So you're like my father."

She laughed heartily. "I am a great deal more _powerful_ than your father and far older. But I suppose yes, in a way, I am. The supernatural and magic is out there whether or not you acknowledge them. There are some that are drawn into that world that many ignore, like Watanuki. He had no choice in this: it is his blood that draws spirits to him and they prey on him. Then there are some like Doumeki-kun that delve into this world of their on free will for some reason or another."

Those darker golden eyes looked at her in surprise. "You mean…Shizuka? Why would he…?"

"To protect Watanuki. He has the ability to exorcise spirits. It is not as strong as his grandfather's. He cannot see the spirits, but he can get rid of them. That is why I was always having him accompany Watanuki on the errands that I sent them on." She smiled faintly. "He is a very strong boy and it was only natural at their relationship. It was meant to happen, Doumeki-san."

Yuuko gave him time to assimilate all the information she gave and stood up, grabbing her matching purse after a few moments. This would be the test. Slowly introduce him into the world that he had always envied. It was quite obvious to her the reason he had denied the world of supernatural: because had no ability whatsoever from his father and in that humiliation, as he saw it, he chose to not acknowledge it at all.

"You're leaving?"

"Yes. I'm meeting someone in an hour."

"Is that someone also…?"

"She is powerful too. Not as much as myself and not as old, but she is indeed powerful." Yuuko laughed. "She is perhaps the biggest supporter of Watanuki and Doumeki-kun's relationship, especially when Watanuki was in denial of his feelings."

She was at the door when he spoke again. "Will you come back again?"

"Why?"

"Because you…you remind me of my father."

"Well, as it happens," she told him with a grin and opened the door, "I have quite an interest in your father, so I suppose I can make time. Just one thing, Doumeki-san."

"Yes?"

"Be careful with Watanuki. One more action like what you did to him when you met him and you will have made not only a permanent enemy of your son, but also two very powerful sorceresses, among others."

"Sorceresses? You and that woman you're meeting?"

"Yes. Whether he knows it or not, Watanuki has quite a lot of protectors and those fond of him, most in the spiritual world. It would not be in your best interest to make enemies of those people, especially since you _do_ run a shrine. It would be something like starting a holy war on _their_ territory. You would not stand a chance."

"…I will keep this in mind."

"I do hope you will."

_Seven years later_

Watanuki smiled at the flower petals floated down from the trees that surrounded the temple, and red flooded his cheeks in happiness when one of them drifted into his palm. The sun was absolutely beautiful and the day had just the right breeze, so it was neither too hot nor too cool. He could only attribute it to the Ame Warashi and the Zashiki Warashi pulling some strings with some relatives.

"Watanuki-kun, it's time!"

He glanced over his shoulder to look at Kunogi Himawari, who almost seemed to literally shine in her beautiful silver dress. Her eyes studied him and she approached to fix his tie. "You look so handsome, Watanuki-kun! So beautiful, even. I got the picture of you looking at the petals…" Tears of joy hung at the edges of her eyes.

Because it was his "wedding day".

It wouldn't actually be a marriage by legal standards, since the government of Japan didn't acknowledge such things, but considering how the courtyard of the Doumeki shrine was filled with spirits and friends of his, it was hard to believe that it was anything other than a wedding.

It was all Shizuka and Yuuko's fault, really. They had been pushing him for what Yuuko called a 'Promise Ceremony', in which, she stated, soulmates would forever bind themselves together so that no matter how far apart they were, they would always know how the other was doing. If one died, the other would instantly know it. And if he guessed correctly, that might apply to _other_ lives as well, but that brought him headaches to think about, so he didn't. He just needed to focus on _one_ life at a time.

He smiled when he eyes caught that of his beloved's over the crowd and Konoo standing at his side. Konoo was going to stand as his best man. Honestly, he hadn't had any really close friends or relatives left, but when he'd asked Himawari, blushing and stammering in embarrassment and mortification, to be his "lady in waiting", she had nearly went through the ceiling in her excitement.

Yuuko had insisted that it be as close to a normal wedding as possible, so Doumeki Kyoichirou was going to be "giving him away", even though it should have been the opposite, really. He flushed again, finding the whole thing flustering and embarrassing, but his heart just wouldn't calm down and he couldn't keep his overjoyed smile off his face. In the last seven years, he had learned to smile a lot more than he had ever had in his life ever since his parents died.

Those gathered around to witness such an event, spirits and those humans who were involved in the spirit world that he'd known, parted so he could walk toward the shrine, where Doumeki, Yuuko, Konoo and Himawari waited for him. Yuuko had insisted that she would serve the place of the priest, which was just to his liking, really. She was so powerful and had supported him so much, even if sometimes he really wanted to strangle her.

In fact, Yuuko had influenced not only himself, but those around him. If it hadn't been for her, he doubted that Doumeki Kyoichirou would be able to walk. True, he couldn't walk without the cane and he did so only very slowly, but it was better than being in a wheelchair. It was only after they'd started to meet quite constantly, him and Yuuko, that Watanuki had learned that in exchange for some of the precious things he had been keeping that belonged to his father, he had gotten a wish to at least be able to walk with a cane again.

His arm was linked with Kyoichirou's and he had never been the focus of so much attention in his life and not a single one of that attention was malicious. He still attracted spirits, true, but all the spirits and Yuuko that had come had assured him that the barrier they had made would be protection even against gods.

There would be nothing interrupting this ceremony.

The Zashiki Warashi had tears in her eyes, but she was smiling so prettily. Her cousin, the Ame Warashi, was busy patting her black hair in a fond way, casting him a good-natured wink. The foxes from the oden cart were nearby them and he did not miss seeing the broken shaft of the arrow sticking out of a pocket he had give the youngest one when he was little, who was now a teenager.

Perhaps it took a little longer to get to the shrine because of Kyoichirou's leg, but nobody seemed to mind in the least and he could make eye contact with all those that he had met and helped over the years. It took all his strength not to cry, just because he was so happy. He had never once in his life dreamed that this would have ever happened to him.

Kyoichirou twined Watanuki's hand with that of his soon-to-be husband and patted both of their shoulders. It had taken seven years to repair the relationship between father and son, and there was doubt whether it would truly be exactly the same as before, but wasn't that better? They had been able to start over and come to something like an equal bond.

Yuuko was dressed in what was her most extravagant and impressive outfit, the one she'd worn when meeting Syaoran and the others. But that was no problem really, since the black Mokona had no problem projecting an image for that close-knit group to watch the wedding. And Yuuko had had it all worked out so Maru and Moro could watch from the shop.

She really had been waiting for years to do this, hadn't she? It was somewhat…unsettling.

As the ceremony began, Watanuki found his eyes drawn to that of his beloved's and unable to break away. He could feel the magic gathering around the two of them, centering on their intertwined hands, and the heat between their palms was almost searing. Slowly, Shizuka lifted their combined hands to his lips and kissed his ring finger. Left behind from that kiss a golden band slowly and magically formed to fit only his hand. Watanuki repeated the action to his now-husband's, and while the rings had a few fundamental differences, they were both made by magic and love.

Was it his fault that he had never really heard a word that Yuuko spoke, too lost in Shizuka's eyes to notice? Probably. He was probably going to hear a lecture about it too. But he just knew that there was someone in the crowd who was video-taping this, if Yuuko hadn't put up a video camera herself somewhere around there, and he could be embarrassed later over it.

"You can _kiss_ now," Konoo hissed in a stage whisper with an amused smile and a ripple of laughter went through the congregation. The Ame Warashi caught the gaze of the telepath and flushed prettily. The smile on Konoo's smile widened a little and he winked at her.

Shizuka's hand lifted his chin, and his cheeks were even darker now in anticipation. Everything was so perfect, he was sure it was a dream, but that didn't matter. If he could live in this dream for the rest of his life, then he would remain content.

_Mom…Dad…I hope you're watching this wherever you are. I'm just so happy…Please, give us your blessings and know that I'm always being protected. I love you both._

"I love you, Shizuka," he whispered. A soft smile touched that mouth and then there were lips on his…

He never heard the cheers or the smiles of those that were his closest friends. All he knew was the pleasure of knowing what true happiness was. He was loved.

He'd finally gotten his own Happily Ever After.


	9. Chapter 9

"Yuuuuko-san, I don't really think—"

The Dimensional Witch tuned out the complaints from her adult employee and went on writing and making invitations. She had had a long talk with him several years ago about taking over her shop when it was her time to go and so instead of working to get rid of his ability, he worked for training.

"Watanuki, here. Mail these invitations."

Watanuki frowned as she handed him a stack of elegant invitations, most of the magical in nature, and went back to sorting those who she was going to invite to her cute little replacement's promise ceremony. She had been waiting for this moment for seven years and she _finally_ got to plan what was basically a wedding. When she'd told Himawari about it, her lover, even after all these years, had been overjoyed.

She had yet to tell Watanuki that Himawari was a powerful sorceress or had been the one to put Doumeki Shizuka into a woman's body so many years ago, which had led to their love confessions to each other and their current happiness.

"I don't believe this. He actually let you do this?"

Yuuko looked up at the Ame Warashi that had just entered her usual meeting room that was also currently filled to the brim with all sorts of things necessary to setting up a wedding. Her smile was smug and she set down her pen on the table in front of her. "Of course. He's unable to say no to Doumeki-kun."

"Ah. So it wasn't you who convinced him."

"Well, in a roundabout way it was."

"How so?"

"I convinced Doumeki-kun."

"Which is the same thing," the Ame Warashi retorted and they laughed.

"So you needed to see me?"

"Only to tell you that Zashiki and myself will be there, naturally."

"And my request?"

The Ame Warashi scratched her cheek in thought. "I can wrangle it, I think. However as you always say, there's a price to be paid. Even you're bound by those constraints."

"Naturally," she purred back and her smile grew in a way that only Watanuki really knew was dangerous. "However, I have already got a payment method in mind."

"Oh? And that is?"

"I have it from a very, very reliable source that Konoo Masami will be there. In fact, I believe he will be the 'best man' for Doumeki-kun. You know, the captain of Doumeki-kun's archery team in high school."

In seconds, the proud and blunt Ame Warashi had red cheeks and wasn't meeting her eyes. Yuuko's smile widened. It had not escaped her notice that the Ame Warashi had been smitten with Konoo for almost a year since the boy had accidentally come across her two errand boys when doing a minor job for them, by request of the Ame Warashi.

"H-How is that payment?"

Perhaps it was her vice, as Clow used to say, but she had her most fun teasing those around her. Watanuki was an endless source of entertainment, but the prouder they were, the funnier their reactions were.

"Well, according to my information," she told her, picking up another piece of special paper for more invitations, but her eyes never strayed from the Ame Warashi fidgeting in front of her, "Konoo-kun is currently single, quite immersed into the spiritual world, is a telepath, and most notably, and perhaps the most important thing, is not gay. I _might_ be able to set something up with my…informant and arrange a meeting."

"A-are you sure that would be equal in payment for—"

"Yes, quite well. You will see why later."

"Ame Warashi! What are you doing here?"

Her eyes finally slid to Watanuki, who had just appeared in the doorway. The flush on the Rain Sprite's face faded instantly and her disposition was back, but Yuuko would never forget the sudden lack of composure and neither would the Ame Warashi. And she had once criticized the Zashiki Warashi for falling in love with Watanuki. She had little room to talk anymore.

"Just arranging a few things for your wedding." Watanuki blushed at the blunt words of the sprite as she sped past him and faded away.

Well, that took care of the perfect weather part of the planning. Now, to convince Watanuki to wear a wedding dress…


End file.
